68th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--1995 Regular Session

NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .

LC 3201

                         House Bill 3350

Sponsored by Representative BAUM


                             SUMMARY

The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.

  Requires railroads to provide crew debriefing services in cases
of serious railroad accidents.
  Provides civil penalty for failure to comply.

                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to railroad safety; creating new provisions; and
  amending ORS 764.900.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1.  { + Section 2 of this Act is added to and made a
part of ORS chapter 764. + }
  SECTION 2.  { + (1) Every railroad shall provide or make
available to every member of an operating crew involved in an
accident on its railway or right of way that results in loss of
life or serious bodily injury counseling services or other
critical incident stress debriefing services within 12 hours of
the accident.
  (2) At the site of the accident, the operating crew must be
immediately relieved from duty and transported home with no loss
of compensation or applicable benefits for a minimum of three
consecutive days. If the railroad can show that the accident was
due to the negligence of one or more of the operating crew, the
leave for those crew members may be without compensation or
benefits. No one who is eligible for the services described in
subsection (1) of this section may be denied them due to the
negligence of another crew member.
  (3) Any operating crew member returning to duty following such
leave, if the crew member so requests, must be assigned an
assistant engineer or other applicable qualified person to
accompany the crew member for such time as may be necessary to
guarantee the public safety, or until the crew member requests a
return to duty without accompaniment or an appropriate medical
practitioner has determined that the crew member does not suffer
from post-traumatic stress disorder.
  (4) The provisions of this section are intended to be a minimum
standard to protect public safety, and are not intended to
restrict any railroad from exceeding these conditions to
guarantee public safety. + }
  SECTION 3. ORS 764.900 is amended to read:
  764.900. (1) In addition to all other penalties provided by
law, every person who violates or who procures, aids or abets in
the violation of ORS 764.140 (1) { + , + }   { - or - }  764.150
(1)  { + or section 2 of this 1995 Act + } or any order, rule or
decision of the  { + Public Utility + } Commission shall incur a
penalty of not more than $1,000 for every such violation.
  (2) Each such violation shall be a separate offense and in case
of a continuing violation every day's continuance is a separate
violation. Every act of commission or omission which procures,
aids or abets in the violation is a violation under this section
and subject to the penalty provided in this section.
  (3) Such penalty shall not be imposed except by order following
complaint as provided in ORS 756.500 to 756.610. Such proceeding
shall be commenced within two years following the date of the
violation complained of.
  (4) The commission may reduce any penalty provided for in this
section on such terms as the commission considers proper if:
  (a) The defendant admits the violations alleged in the
complaint and makes timely request for reduction of the penalty;
or
  (b) The defendant submits to the commission a written request
for reduction of the penalty within 15 days from the date the
penalty order is served.
  (5) If the amount of such penalty is not paid to the
commission, the Attorney General, at the request of the
commission, shall bring an action in the name of the State of
Oregon in the Circuit Court of Marion County to recover such
penalty. The action shall not be commenced until after the time
has expired for an appeal from the findings, conclusions and
order of the commission. In all such actions the procedure and
rules of evidence shall be the same as an ordinary civil action
except as otherwise provided in this chapter.
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